"" Here are the ages for those who asked.

"" Bella – fifteen years old.

"" Alice – fifteen years old.

"" Rosalie – sixteen years old.

"" Jasper – seventeen years old.

"" Edward – seventeen years old.

"" Emmett – eighteen years old.

Chapter thirteen. Hold my hand.

Bella's POV.

Everything had changed. I thought it wouldn't. I thought it didn't. But it did. It had all changed. There was a sudden wound in my heart that needed nursing, because my real parents didn't want me.

All my life someone had always wanted me. I felt loved of course. But after I found out that I was abandoned I suddenly felt unloved. My biological parents ditched me because they didn't want me. They just left me with a note and a necklace.

I didn't want to find my parents. Emmett and Alice thought maybe I did, but I didn't. They weren't people. They were monsters. Just leaving a baby like that. I would never want to see them again. And if I did, I wouldn't die a peaceful death.

"You look deep in thought", said a voice interrupting my daydreaming. I looked up to see Edward smiling. He was leaning by my bedroom doorway looking more like a Greek god than ever.

I blushed and looked down.

"Emmett says the pizza's here", said Edward, "wanna come down?"

"I'm not hungry, thanks", I muttered twirling the silvery necklace between my fingers.

"Are you sure? Everyone's asking for you", he told me. It was Sunday afternoon. A week and a day since I found out I was adopted. My parents went to spend the day out so Emmett thought we should all go to the beach. But I didn't want to. I didn't feel like it. I just felt like sitting down and doing nothing. So Emmett invited over Rosalie and jasper instead. They were all currently downstairs, mucking around with some video games or something.

"I'm sure", I sighed. A couple of minutes went by of which I thought Edward had gone, but when I turned around I noticed he was still there. By my doorway, looking at me with a peculiar expression.

"Can I see that?" he asked pointing to the necklace in my hand. I motioned for him to come in, hesitantly Edward walked into my room towards me. He seemed nervous, well Emmett was in the house so I knew why he was.

Reluctantly I handed him the necklace. He took it and examined it. Edward was standing my room, in front of my bed.

"Cullen sounds better", muttered Edward giving the necklace back. I stared up at him.

"What?"

"Cullen", he repeated, "it sounds better than Swan. Isabella Cullen. It has a certain ring to it."

"Er, thanks", I murmured not knowing what to say.

"You look lost", he whispered. He sat down next to me, watching me twist and twirl the necklace once more. "You look sort of hurt, slightly… like you don't know what you're doing."

I froze and looked up.

How did he know me so well? How did he know what was wrong?

Was it because I was obvious?

"Am I that easy to read?" I asked. His green eyes were watery and dreamlike. I didn't want to look away.

"On the other hand, Bella, I find you very difficult to read", he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Then how did you know?" I breathed.

"I simply predicted, that's how you would feel… after find out that, you know, the thing last week", stammered Edward. He was speaking cautiously, as if scared to say the wrong thing.

"That Esme and Carlisle aren't my real parents", I filled in for him, "that Alice and Emmett aren't my real brothers and sisters."

"Well, yeah."

"I don't mind being adopted, Edward," I told him quietly, "It's ok. Esme and Carlisle are brilliant people and I love them. But… the fact that… that my biological parents just left me, its not exactly comforting, is it?"

"They left you?" Edward whispered curiously. I nodded.

"I was abandoned, Edward. They just left me on the side of a river, in a local public park", I said. A warm salty tear rolled down my cheek. I looked away from Edward and at the floor. I couldn't face him. It hurt so much. To know that the people who made me, didn't want me.

"I hope you don't me saying this", said Edward looking at me for permission. I motioned for him to carry on speaking, "well I personally think that your parents, whoever they were, must've been the two most idiotic and stupid people in the world."

A short laugh came out of my mouth.

"I'm serious. I'm sure you were a very beautiful baby so they must've been blind as well or something", he carried on, "and if they abandoned you, that is the biggest mistake of their lives to come."

Edward smiled reassuringly. I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulders. The pain was still there. Feeling abandoned. It's like your first day at school and at the end of the day your parents haven't come to pick you up. Everyone else is gone and you can't help thinking that your parents have forgotten about you. Left you. Abandoned you.

"Come on, let's go downstairs", urged Edward standing up. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I dropped the necklace on the bed and went downstairs with him.

Emmett's POV.

Edward and Bella skipped down the stairs, laughing about something. My eyes narrowed when I noticed they were holding hands. I told him to be persuasive, but not this much.

"Hungry, Bella?" I called out. She smiled, a fake smile and sat down on the sofa. I went to sit next to Rose.

We passed around the food and drinks.

I could see there was something different about Bella. Ever since she found out about the adoption. She didn't need to worry, we were her family. No matter what she would always be my little sister.

I was worried of course, that because she found out Esme and Carlisle weren't her real parents she would try and search for her real ones. It would break Esme's heart. But Bella was unpredictable as always. If she put her mind to something she would get it done.

"Emmett! Press play already", snapped Alice. I threw her the remote and sighed. Bella was picking on the edges of her pizza, she was stalling, I noticed. Waiting for everyone else to finish eating then she'd just chuck the food away. She had been doing that a lot lately. Not really eating anything much. I wanted to talk to her about it but I didn't want to upset. I was trying to lay off a bit. She had her own life. She was a big girl.

The movie started playing and the room was silent apart from the sounds of chewing and slurping.

"I need to get a drink", I muttered standing up. I got off the sofa and didn't notice that Jasper and Alice were sitting at the foot of it.

"Dude, that's my foot!" snapped Jasper.

"Sorry", I grinned.

"Jasper! You just whacked my ankle", complained Rosalie. I turned around to see if she was ok.

"You're going to crush Alice", warned Edward.

"Emmett… Emmett… EMMETT!" Alice's screech rang through my ears. I swirled around to see what was wrong and accidentally collapsed back.

"You're squishing her!" snapped Bella stand up. She offered a hand to jasper to stand up. Rosalie stood up too, trying to get away from Alice's swipes to get up.

"Slowly suffocating… get off… ", She gasped grabbing anything to pull herself up. In her attempt to hold on to something, she gripped Bella's leg and pulled her. Bella collapsed on top of me, bringing jasper down with her.

"Emmett! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME, NOW!"

"Ouch! Bella, my wrist!"

"Alice, are you alive?"

"Who messed up my hair?"

"I really need a drink", I sighed. I pushed off Bella who fell into Edward's arm. Jasper scrambled away as I stood up and pulled up Alice. Rosalie was brushing her hair.

"You flattened me", Alice accused. She stabbed her pointy little fingers into my chest. I winced away from the pain.

"It's not my fault", I said defensively rubbing the spot she poked, "I only wanted a drink."

"I'll get it", laughed Bella, "sit back down Emmett, you might hurt someone. Anyone else want something to drink."

"Me", said Rosalie putting her brush back into her bag.

"I want some with sugar", Alice chirped up.

"Just water, thanks Bella", jasper said.

"I'll help", Edward offered. Bella laughed again and left the living room with Edward following.

Edward's POV.

I think I was the only one who wasn't squirming around on the floor. Emmett fell on Alice who brought down Bella who pulled down jasper who messed up Rosalie's hair. I was the only sane on there.

"That was hectic", laughed Bella as she opened the fridge door. I chuckled quietly.

"Want something as well?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No, thanks", I said. She got out some coke cans and a bottle of water. I helped her carry it back into the living room. The movie was still playing but no one was watching now. They had all finished eating and were just talking.

Bella handed the drinks around and went to sit down. I sat down on the sofa next to her being careful to ignore the urge to drape an arm around her or even scoot closer.

Bella's POV

"I need to go to the bathroom", muttered Edward existing quietly. Rosalie and Emmett were playing this weird slapping game or Rosalie was just slapping Emmett and Alice and jasper were having a silent conversation including staring at eachother.

I played about with my fingers and realised I wanted to fidget about with my necklace. Without anyone noticing, I ran up the stairs into my room. The necklace was still there. It stared back at me. I slowly picked it up.

Isabella Swan.

I pulled it up and try and put on. I had it for a week now and only played about with it, I didn't know why I hadn't tried it on. Would it look alright?

"Want me to help?" said a voice. This was like de ja vue. He was leaning by my bedroom doorway again, smiling. Edward gestured the necklace and the fact that I was trying to put it on. I handed it over to him and pulled my hair to the left into a bunch.

"You have a nice neck", his breath hit the back of my neck sending volts of electricity through my body. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. The cold metal was tied around my neck and I let my hair go.

"Beautiful", whispered Edward.

I didn't know whether he was talking about the necklace or me. i figured it was the necklace. I turned around to face him, knowing fully well my face was crimson by this minute. His breath taking crooked smile made my knees melt.